Mass spectroscopy is an analytical technique that measures the mass-to-charge ratio of charged particles for determining, for example, the elemental composition of a specimen or sample of matter. Laser-assisted spectroscopy (LAS) involves directing laser energy at a sample in order to disassociate its constituent parts and make them available to a spectrometer. LAS systems apply the laser energy to the sample while passing a fluid, typically an inert gas, over the sample to capture the disassociated species and carry them to a spectroscope for processing. Example LAS systems include laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectroscopy (LA ICP-MS), laser ablation inductively coupled plasma emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES/ICP-AES) and laser induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS).
In certain LAS systems, a laser beam path moves along a beam trajectory (e.g., the laser beam may be deflected relative to sample and/or the sample may be moved relative to the laser beam using motion stages) to ablate material from a selected portion or portions of the sample for analysis. For example, FIG. 1 is a simplified schematic diagram of a sample 100 including a kerf 110 cut by a laser beam. In this example, the beam trajectory along the kerf 110 is in a direction indicated by arrow 112. The sample 100 may include more than one type of material and the composition or respective concentrations of elements may change along the kerf 110. However, mass spectrometers generally output data as tabulated text or in spreadsheet formats that do not correspond to physical locations of the sample 100. The mass spectroscopy data may be displayed in the form of numbers and graphs. For example, FIG. 2 illustrates example graphs of mass spectroscopy data for various elements measured for the sample 100 shown in FIG. 1. In this example, concentrations are graphed with respect to time for selected nuclides of Sulfur (S32), Calcium (Ca44), Manganese (Mn55), Zinc (Zn66), Mercury (Hg202), Lead (Pb208), and Bismuth (Bi209). A problem with the graphs shown in FIG. 2 is that there is no correlation to physical locations on the surface of the sample 100 relative to where the material was extracted for generating the displayed data.